Ashdown Rootmaster RM owners club

[BassAdder60]

Who’s been setting their RM so to reduce the 240HZ control ?

Ive found that by running it around 9 o clock is a good setting 

[Merton]

29 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

Who’s been setting their RM so to reduce the 240HZ control ?

Ive found that by running it around 9 o clock is a good setting 

Yep, it works nicely with a cut on that control

[mep]

I'm the opposite as I'm partial to a bit of low mid boost. Have been doing that for years on all my amps.

[BassAdder60]

I was originally running mine with the shape button in and a slight reduction of bass control and the rest flat but ..

I tried to get a less deep and more full and punchy sound and found shape button out and EQ set as 

Bass - 2 o’clock 

240HZ - 9 o’clock 

Mid - 11 o’clock 

1.5kHZ - 1 o’clock 

Treble - 12 o’clock 

I found this also worked better too when using a very small amount of drive as required on some songs 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by BassAdder27

[Reggaebass]

It’s interesting to see what settings you use , and it depends on what I’m playing, I’ve been playing a lot of dub lately, this is the setting I’ve found hits the sweet spot, that’s with a us jazz with neck pickup on full and the bridge 75% and the  tone off 

[BassAdder60]

Mine is with a PBass and mostly aimed at rock 

Ideal tone for finger style playing and then back off PBass tone control for pick playing 

I tend to always run my PBass tone control at around 80%  so I can at times increase to 100% for a bit more bite or back it off to around 50% for less clank when using a pick 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by BassAdder27

[javi_bassist]

Your EQ settings are really interesting. I have to experiment more. However, I use everything flat but the treble, which is at 10, in both my RM head and the OriginAL preamp. And it sounds punchy and how I like it. But it's true that I haven't experiment a lot with the EQ.

I have a question about the RM head though. What I saw since the very beginning is that there is a red light that illuminates with the yellow VU. I understand that the red light is when it's clipping. But I think it comes too often. The VU niddle reaches the middle and it's clipping. I know I should not pay attention to the VU (and that I should trust my ears more) but I find it weird. I was talking to a friend the other day and he has a mibass 550 that does the same. I don't know if it's a common thing. What do you think guys? Ashdown told me that the RM has a lot of gain (than my ABM and the previous RM 420) and that is why it's clipping. But even with a low output jazz bass.

Edited March 4, 2021 by javi_bassist

[BassAdder60]

I asked Ashdown the question about the VU meter input LEDs 

Green ( looks yellow ) = good input 

Red = too much input 

Yesterday I cranked my input using a PBass passive and the needle went into the red VU meter scale but the red led didn’t appear ?

I did discover having a good strong input signal improved the drive tone too, engaging it does lift the volume slightly too and with a very small amount of drive it sounded really good ( I don’t like a lot of drive on bass ) 

I was originally a lover of the Shape In sound ( smiley face ) and removing a bit of bass so it wasn’t too boomy.

However I think that tone would get buried in a band so I experimented with Shape Out and it was dialling down the 240HZ where I got a great full and punchy tone that I liked for rock 

[Muppet]

13 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

I was originally running mine with the shape button in and a slight reduction of bass control and the rest flat but ..

I tried to get a less deep and more full and punchy sound and found shape button out and EQ set as .....

 

Is this through a cab or also with headphones? I'm off to try it!

[BassAdder60]

Through my PF115LF  Ampeg cab 

This is a deep sounding ported cab so my settings may differ to others 

 

Edited March 4, 2021 by BassAdder27

[javi_bassist]

Today I tried something very different in my RM. With the Shape In (and I usually hate it) I EQ with the following setting: Bass at 11, 240 at 2, Mid at 3, 1k5 at 1 and treble at 12. And I love it. It's a little less punchy, but it has the kind of vibe the ABM EVO II has. I'm really liking this settings with a jazz bass 😁

[BassAdder60]

Your settings were “ O Clock “ I assume ?

I ran mine like that backing off the bass and boosting the mids .. I liked it until I turned it up more and it sounded boomy 

I now run it off so Shape out with more bass and a reduction in 240hz and it gets a punchy sound.

I found it worked better with the drive as well and finally using a pick it just rocked !

Depends on the tone you seek, mine is more Lounge Act Nirvana !! 

 

[BassAdder60]

Interesting discovery today with my RM800 

Playing with a pick ( starting to prefer for my current rock plans / band ) my previous  EQ settings on the RM800 just didn’t work where I had them for finger style.

You may recall I said using the Shape In ( smiley face EQ ) was too boomy with fingers .. well 

Using a pick and selecting Shape In and EQ all flat ( or out ) the tone with a PBass was superb and deep yet punchy 

I could roll back the tone on my PBass to get a warmer more rounded tone or bright and zingy by cranking it.

It just made the amp come alive and the input gain increased too by pushing in Shape so I pulled that back a tad.

Do you think amp designers design the basic EQ sound around a pick player or fingers ? To me the Ashdown seems more alive and at home with a pick and PBass 

Interesting! 

Also I had planned to get a second cab at some point ( using the Ampeg PF115LF)  but the clarity and perceived loudness playing with a pick may make this unnecessary!! 

[Lozz196]

I think certain amps work better with certain basses, and in certain genres, they just seem to pair better and Ashdown for rock seems to just work.

[uk_lefty]

It's a really good versatile amp, I find. I use it with mids boosted for fretless playing, have started experimenting with a light bit of drive recently too whereas I was pretty much using it as an in-your-face effect instead of just a little ingredient to help the mix. I always preferred the sound of mine with 2x 15s rather than a 2x10 plus 1x15. There was a lot more depth and roundness from that cab combination I found. 

[javi_bassist]

23 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

It's a really good versatile amp, I find. I use it with mids boosted for fretless playing, have started experimenting with a light bit of drive recently too whereas I was pretty much using it as an in-your-face effect instead of just a little ingredient to help the mix. I always preferred the sound of mine with 2x 15s rather than a 2x10 plus 1x15. There was a lot more depth and roundness from that cab combination I found. 

What cabs do you use? I'm thinking about getting 2 1x12 or 2 1x15. Thinking about Ashdown RM cabs

[uk_lefty]

18 minutes ago, javi_bassist said:

What cabs do you use? I'm thinking about getting 2 1x12 or 2 1x15. Thinking about Ashdown RM cabs

I've only used the RM cabs with it. I've got a 1x15 that has been uprated to 500w and a standard 2x10. When I was running two 15s it was the uprated one plus a standard one. At home I just have the 500 head with the 2x10 cab, though its sat on the 15 I'm letting it rest until its needed. 

[Lozz196]

21 minutes ago, javi_bassist said:

What cabs do you use? I'm thinking about getting 2 1x12 or 2 1x15. Thinking about Ashdown RM cabs

They’re nice cabs, I’ve had 210s, 112, 115 & 410. For ease of use two of the 210/112/115s make a great rig.

At the time I had mine I also had Ashdown ABM cabs, the RMs aren’t voiced quite as deep but have a well balanced sound - I’m basing this on my two 210s btw, in comparison to my ABM410. I was happy gigging either set-up.

[Reggaebass]

I use the RM with 2x markbass 15s which gives a pretty deep warm sound , and I’ve also got an Ashdown 115 deep cab , which imo needs to be pushed a bit more to get the lows and it’s also a bit more midrange sounding 🙂

[uk_lefty]

I should add, the RM Head goes easily in a laptop bag with cables. Put that over your shoulder and you can carry an RM cab in each hand. Just make sure you go sideways though doors. 

[Reggaebass]

I’ve had a lot of ashdown heads and the RM really shapes up well, it’s my favourite at the moment 

[javi_bassist]

I have to admit that my cabs have only been mic'ed once in my life after 10 years of gigging. My sound has always come from the DI of the head (a RM500 for three years) or from a preamp. So I'm looking for portable cabs that sound nice, but no need to be super expensive (I sold my Mesa powerhouse for that reason. Really good sounding, but heavy and "just a monitor"). I've also gigged with an ABM with an ABM 410 cab and it sounded really really good, but I'm not sure if the ABM cabs are worth the extra money (in my case)

[stevie]

On 03/03/2021 at 18:49, BassAdder27 said:

Who’s been setting their RM so to reduce the 240HZ control ?

Ive found that by running it around 9 o clock is a good setting 

I remarked in another thread about a year ago that I preferred the sound of the amp with the 240Hz cut - to about 9 o'clock if I remember rightly. So you're not alone.

[stewblack]

5 hours ago, javi_bassist said:

What cabs do you use? I'm thinking about getting 2 1x12 or 2 1x15. Thinking about Ashdown RM cabs

Two 12s, the one in the combo and a second Ashdown matching extension cab. 

It does everything I will ever need. The combo is handy for rehearsal, put the other 12 under it and I've gigged outdoors with no pa support. 

[Reggaebass]

I occasionally dabble in a bit of funk, any suggestions on what settings to use on the RM , is it better with the shape in or out, I’ve been using my LB30 up till now but I want to start using the rm, cheers